Affordable healthcare is a priority: Shahbaz

LAHORE: The government is spending billions of rupees to provide quality healthcare to people, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Tuesday.

He was addressing a meeting held to review steps to improve public healthcare.

“The government has devised a comprehensive programme to activate rural and basic health centres. Such health facilities will be improved in 10 districts in the first phase of the programme. We will also ensure participation of the private sector,” he said.

He said that implementation of the programme would result in improvement of treatment facilities in tehsil and district headquarters hospitals.

He said that a pilot project had been started in Nankana Sahib district for the improvement of mother-and-child and primary healthcare.

“The project will be extended to other districts under a phased programme,” he said.

The chief minister said that the government was taking measures on a priority basis for the development of health sector and provision of modern health facilities to the people. “Steps are being taken to ensure acceptable standards of service delivery in public and private sector hospitals. An effective monitoring system has also been evolved for this purpose,” he said.

Separately, Health Secretary Jawad Rafique Malik said on Tuesday that the government would provide a five-tier service structure to nurses.

He directed the relevant officers to prepare and submit a draft of service structure for nurses within a month.

He was talking to a delegation of the Young Nurses’ Association (YNA).

“Besides filling thousands of vacant posts, recruitments are also being made through the Punjab Public Service Commission,” he said.

The YNA delegation was led by its president, Rozina Manzoor, and general secretary Shahnaz Kauser. Additional Secretary Adnan Zafar and Deputy Secretary Raja Mansoor were also present.

The delegation informed the officials about the problems facing them.

It was decided that a meeting of departmental promotion committee would be held on June 10 and 19. The meeting also decided to issue show cause notices to nurses absent from duty for removal from service.

The meeting agreed to the proposal of starting a male nursing cadre.

The health secretary said that more nurses would be promoted before Eid. “The government is taking steps to promote nurses, regularise nurses in contract jobs and create thousands of new vacancies,” he said.